With the success of local animation series like ‘Upin & Ipin’ and ‘BoBoiBoy’, our local film industry is finally getting the recognition it truly deserves.
‘Batik Girl’ is the latest local animation film to make the nation proud!
Produced by The R&D Studio, the motion picture follows a young’s girl journey in coping with a recent tragedy. In the midst of it all, she finds herself drawn into the magical world of ‘batik’.
The official poster of the feature film.
Source: Facebook/Batik Girl Film
Since its release, many have resonated with the message in the movie. In fact, it has been screened at 26 film festivals in over 17 countries across the globe!
To date, the animation film has also won prestigious accolades like the Best Animated Short Film at the Festival de Largos y Cortos de Santiago in Chile and the Honourable Mention in Audience Favourites award at the Florida Animation Festival.
“A whimsical, truly beautiful film that celebrates through the glorious forms and colours of animation, a life-transforming nature of the creative imagination. I think, actually, the film is a profound meditation on the very idea of animation,” said Professor Richard William Allen in a post on the film’s official Facebook account.
The filmmakers were first inspired by the idea after an unexpected experience at the Bologne Children’s Book Fair in Italy in 2017. They had noticed an elderly couple who were fascinated with a ‘batik’ tablecloth.
According to The Rakyat Post, Irwan Junaidy one of the creative genius behind the storyline said, “In our overactive imagination, we thought that they must have surely seen something in the tablecloth, a creature that is moving inside the batik patterns and that was the reason why they wanted to purchase it!”.
A tale of family ties and more. Source: YouTube
This incident inspired the filmmakers to convey a family tale, namely the bond between a grandmother and a granddaughter as well as other themes such as grief. However, its unique and truly Malaysian feature lies in various batik motives such as creeping vines in the jungle (known as Daun berjalan) and even rocks on mountains (known as ‘Retak’).
The film which took 8 months for creation of its storyline and 4 months for production, was clearly worth the effort!
A huge shoutout to the filmmakers for coming up with a creative way of promoting our Malaysian heritage through animation.
May this success motivate us to continue working and supporting the local film industry! (#supportlocalfilms)
*Featured image sourced from Facebook/Batik Girl Film
Also read:
Malaysian Productions Heading To The Oscars!
